Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 55
दक्षिणाभिमुखो रात्रौ यश्च स्नाति विमूढधीः । शेते च शयने सोऽपि भक्षणीयश्च सत्वरम्
dakṣiṇābhimukho rātrau yaśca snāti vimūḍhadhīḥ | śete ca śayane so'pi bhakṣaṇīyaśca satvaram
من اغتسل ليلًا وهو متوجّهٌ إلى الجنوب بعقلٍ مُضلَّل، وكذلك اضطجع للنوم على هيئةٍ غير لائقة—فهو أيضًا مُعلَنٌ «مستحقًّا للأكل»، وبعُجالة.
Narratorial (contextual instruction within the Māhātmya; explicit speaker not stated in this verse)
Type: ghat
Scene: Night at a ghat: a confused pilgrim faces south while bathing; behind him loom personified inauspicious forces, while a lamp-lit shrine indicates the correct, protected zone.
FAQs
Ritual acts in tīrthas should be done with proper orientation and restraint; negligence invites inauspicious consequences.
The verse occurs within Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya; the immediate verse emphasizes conduct rather than naming a single tīrtha.
Avoid bathing at night while facing south, and avoid improper sleeping conduct associated with such inauspicious orientation.